Today is Tess's first day of school and her very first ride on a school bus. As a multitude of vehicles--from fire engine to front loader--passes by, Tess eagerly asks, "Is this the bus for us, Gus?" Young readers will particularly enjoy knowing more than Tess as they identify all of the vehicles that pass by, and they will laugh at the ridiculous antics of all of the kids waiting at the bus stop. Bloom paints a brilliant cast of multiracial kids toting backpacks, lunch boxes, and show-and-tell pets, creating humorous subplots in this reassuring back-to-school classic.

"An everyday...

Sometimes Bear likes quiet time by himself. But his friend Fox has a very different idea of what "quiet" means. Can Bear's quiet aloneness and Fox's noisy togetherness ever result in a satisfying compromise? This simple and endearing story about friends learning to understand each other's differences is filled with Suzanne Bloom's gentle humor and trademark pastel illustrations.

Bear just wants to read and write and think while Goose wants to talk and talk and talk. Bear is getting increasingly frustrated as Goose keeps interrupting him. Then Goose announces that thinking makes him hungry and he needs to make a snack. Goose returns with the snack and a note that he reads to bear: "You are my splendid friend." Bear responds by giving Goose a bear hug. They are splendid friends, indeed.

Bear wishes he could fly. He wants to swoop and glide and feel the wind in his fur. Yet no matter how hard he flaps his arms, he can't get off the ground. Goose and Fox offer support, but Bear remains earthbound--until he hears music. Suddenly, Bear is gliding and swooping and light on his feet. In Suzanne Bloom's lovable story, the seventh in the popular Goose and Bear series, Bear discovers that not getting what you want isn't always a bad thing. In fact, it may lead to something surprising.

In this book, beloved author-illustrator Suzanne Bloom asks readers how they prepare for bed--from putting on jammies to asking for one more hug--then counts down to bedtime from ten terribly tired tigers to one really weary wombat. Each animal demonstrates a different bedtime ritual--skunks somersault into bunks and elephants curl up with their trunks--adding original and inventive rhymes and a clever counting-backward structure to the bedtime book genre. The lyrical, rhyming text combines with dreamy, colorful artwork to provide a perfect way for children to wind down from an active...